Portugal tasting returns to London, riding exports rise

By James Lawrence

Published: 23 March, 2022

After a two year hiatus due to Covid-19, Wines of Portugal is pulling out all the stops, showcasing over 600 wines and 10 different regions at the annual trade tasting next week.

The Wines of Portugal Annual Tasting will be held at St. Mary’s Church, Marylebone on Tuesday 29th March 2022, from 10am to 4.30pm.

According to its organisers, the event is taking place at a time when British consumers are really starting to develop a taste for Portuguese grapes and wine styles.

“The UK is now the third largest market for Portugal (after France and the US), with nearly 11% of all Portuguese Wines coming to this vibrant nation. With an international growth of +8.19% in value (2021 vs 2020), the export market is now worth 926 million euros”, said a representative from Wines of Portugal.

Both producers and their importers will be exhibiting at the tasting, with headline themes including Rare Grapes, Low Intervention Wines and Wines Looking for a UK Home at the special Free Pour area.

In addition, Dirceu Vianna Jr MW and Oz Clarke will host two masterclasses, entitled ‘putting a face on diversity’ and ‘Why are Portuguese wines so suitable for the on-trade.'

“We can tell that all our producers are eager to go back to their key markets, meet their importers’ customers and show their new releases. What a positive message we have to send out to the world,” said Frederico Falcão, president of Wines of Portugal.

He added: “It is exciting to see the continued growth of interest in our unique indigenous varieties and appellations from both importers and retailers. Most of the producers represented at the tasting already have distribution in the UK, but some of them are looking for importers to represent them in the market.”

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